Tibet is a long way from San Francisco. But there's a connection formed by free speech protests, China and the Olympics.

This city will be the only spot in North America to host a leg of the ceremonial torch run on April 9, leading up to the Beijing games in August. It's a special honor, reflecting the city's historic ties to China, but the event comes loaded with problems now magnified by China's crackdown on street protests in Tibet.

Because this will be the only U.S. city for the ceremony, thousands were already expected to protest China human rights record. Given the furor over Tibet, that number is likely to grow.

The city plans to pen these protesters in "designated free speech areas " in an effort to corral potential trouble that might disrupt the torch-and-jogger trot through the streets. This is a newish security tactic used at national political conventions, major gatherings of heads of states and other controversy-stoked affairs to bottle up dissidents in the name of security and safety at large events.

In this case, the city won't disclose the route, location of the protest pens or time of the event, except to say that demonstrators will be allowed "close to the torch route," according to Nathan Ballard, spokesman for Mayor Gavin Newsom.

It may be smart public-event planning to think this way, but it could result in an intrusion on free speech rights. Shoving noisy, placard waving demonstrators into distant holding areas can only be a last resort - and one that appears undeserved in this case. Beijing may like these plans, but why should San Francisco?